After the Whistle: Valerie Martinez
SALISBURY, Md. – “Even though there’s so many people on the court, each person has a role. And I like the fact that I can just show off a skill, and that’s really what I do. Putting the ball down, getting points for us, putting the ball away.”
Valerie Martinez is a middle hitter for Freestate Volleyball Club. Introduced to the sport as a teenager, it clicked for her right away: “When I did my first volleyball camp, I did it at Salisbury University. I was 13 years old, and I was like, I really like this sport. And I started training for it, and I fell in love with it. “
And it wasn’t long before Martinez was shining on the court, even against some of the best athletes on the Eastern Shore. “It was my freshman year [for Delmar High School]. I was a starter as a freshman on varsity, and we played against Delmarva Christian, and I got my first big block as a middle,” Martinez said, recalling one of the earliest impact plays she made in her career, “I was 5’5” at the time, [I’ve grown] two inches. So being 5’5″, getting a block on a D1 commit that was going to Florida, I think that was really great for my freshman year.”
The next phase of her volleyball evolution: winning the mental battle.
“Mentally I feel like I need to do better to that, especially planning to play in college. It’s a lot of pressure, so I feel like I need to do better on that… I just take a deep breath. And I tell myself, I know how to play volleyball,” Martinez said.
Now focusing on club volleyball with Freestate Volleyball Club, Martinez says that a late start to the recruiting process has been challenging, but she’s fully dedicated to putting in all the work necessary to make it to the next level: “A lot of jumping, a lot of lifting weights and just a lot of repetition of hitting the ball or just jumping up and down, really…[emailing] a bunch of colleges, and I’ve put a lot of film together and getting more reps in.”
Martinez added that in her search for a volleyball home at the college level, she would like to stay close to home so that her mom–who also played volleyball–will be able to watch her play.
